Club Nites (Mint Records)

Dumb, the prolific indie-rock band with a punk spirit, have done the impossible and pulled off something simultaneously chaotic and refined on its second project with Mint Records.

The opening title track immediately launches into frenetic and crunchy guitar riffs and a healthy dose of buzzing feedback, frontman Franco Rossino offering some almost spoken-word vocals that direct eye-rolls at all of life’s little inconveniences. Even the concept of doing something as simple as brushing his teeth frustrates him.

Rossino always has this matter-of-fact tone that allows him to rise above all the noise and be as expressive, playful or sarcastic as possible. As he goes out at night and meets people, there’s a lot of pretty inconsequential yet unendingly annoying things for him to rail against. Nightclub-goers drunkenly oversharing and wearing designer brands in an effort to connect trouble him. It also makes it all the more charming when you finally hear his exasperated singing voice on a track like “Cursed.”

Most of these tracks don’t even reach three minutes in length, and most have a lot more instrumental than you’d expect. It helps to settle the listener into a groove where they’re ready to hear what Rossino has to say. Dumb just gets in, melts some faces, delivers some fun commentary, and gets out.

The project is frequently surprising even when it’s sonically cohesive. Tracks like “My Condolences” and “Columbo” offer an explosive cacophony, and there’s even a song in Spanish with a punishingly hard outro that comes out of nowhere. The final track ends unceremoniously as a guitar solo that felt like it was just ramping up fades into nothingness.

Club Nites can be just as confusing and hectic as a night out at a real club. There’s a reason why those particular nights are the most memorable ones.